Long memory serves Bartlettwell in upset win over SC North Zwada goal, Hasenstein shutout lead the winners​By Matt Le CrenSTREAMWOOD – Sixty days had passed since St. Charles North beat Bartlett 2-1 in Bartlett’s season opener.

St. Charles North won the Upstate Eight Conference River Division, its first conference title since 2006, the year the North Stars went to the state quarterfinals.

Bartlett went on to win the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division, part of a surprisingly good regular season that saw the Hawks reach two tournament finals, including the prestigious Best of the West Tournament.

The two squads met again Saturday at Millennium Field and this time the stakes were higher.

With both teams shooting for their first regional championship in four years, it was sixth-seeded Bartlett which exacted revenge by upsetting the third-seeded North Stars 1-0 to capture the Class 3A Bartlett Regional title.

“It is a great feeling,” Bartlett senior goalkeeper Jake Hasenstein said. “We’ve been wanting this since freshman year. It’s been great working with everyone on the team for the past four years, so I’m really happy.”

Few outsiders expected the Hawks (14-7-2) to do much this fall after going 6-14-0 in 2014, but the players knew better.

“This is what we expected,” Hasenstein said. “When we lost to them in the first game of the season, we said we wanted to play them again, and it’s great to beat them for the regional championship.”

Hasenstein was a major reason why the Hawks prevailed. The Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match made 10 saves, six of which came in the final 23 minutes, to record his eighth shutout of the season.

The outcome was in doubt until literally the final seconds, when Hasenstein elevated to punch Alex Amro’s desperation 43-yard free kick over the crossbar as time expired.

“I looked back at the clock right before he took it,” Hasenstein said. “I was like, ‘All right, we’ve just got to manage the game.’ Right as he kicked it I saw all their players coming in, and I didn’t see any defense behind them, so I knew they were either going to be offsides, or I was going to save it.”

Hasenstein’s save was the final act of a match that saw St. Charles North (14-5-3) dominate the action, especially in the second half when the favorites outshot the hosts 11-2.

The North Stars attacked furiously in an effort to save their season and controlled the ball for 90 percent of the final 20 minutes as the Hawks (14-7-2) regularly packed 10 men behind the ball.

“I don’t think we wanted to pack it in that much,” Hasenstein said. “We definitely wanted to get that second goal to ensure everything, but with about 20 minutes left we saw we weren’t getting the chances that we needed to and we decided that we should really pack it in and that’s what we did.”

St. Charles North had plenty of chances after intermission, including five corner kicks and five free kicks, but came up empty as Hasenstein made a great diving save to tip a header off a free kick around the right post with 6:50 to go. Three other shots barely missed, including an Amro free kick that hit the side of the net and a Peter Willis try on an open net that sailed high.

“You get to the postseason, and that’s just kind of the way it works sometimes,” St. Charles North coach Eric Willson said. “While I thought we had the majority of the play in the first half, I thought we were definitely the better team in the second.

“We got all kinds of opportunities but we’ve got to find a way to score one of those goals. Their keeper made a really nice save on one, and there were a couple others that were probably on us, that we should have put in the back of the net and didn’t.”

It was just the second time the North Stars were shut out this season.

“I’d say the whole game was our game, but Bartlett is a very strong team,” St. Charles North senior defender Brandon Stricker said. “I give them credit, but unfortunately that’s how soccer is and one goal kills everything.

“At the end of the game they tried to stack the whole box, and they definitely knew how to keep the lead and try to buy out some time.”

Just as importantly, the Hawks were able to get the lead.

It came with 26:09 left in the first half when senior Igor Zwada ran onto Oliver Saile’s corner kick and knocked a shot that deflected inside the far post.

“It was a scrappy finish, a rough finish,” Saile said. “I saw Igor, he looked determined to get on the ball so I just tried to put it near where he would make his run. He ended up being on the ball, and I think it took another deflection and then went in far post.”

The goal changed the complexion of the game because the Hawks have confidence in their defense. The back third needed to be air-tight because, aside from a pair of shots from Saile that went over the crossbar, Bartlett’s offense was nonexistent the rest of the way.

“Once you get the early goal, you can calm down a little bit and play your style of soccer for the rest of the half without feeling pressure,” Saile noted. “But then again, if we’re only up 1-0 in the second half, and they start gaining momentum, then it gets a little scary.”

If Hasenstein was scared, he didn’t show it even though the ball was within 50 yards of him for nearly all of the final 20 minutes.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Hasenstein said. “I’ve been playing goalie for about six years and every time I get one of those saves that’s game-changing, it’s always a great feeling, especially now.”

Hasenstein pointed out he had plenty of help.

“(The defense was) really good,” Hasenstein said. “I’m proud of the team, and I’m happy with the two middle defenders.

“I’m going to give credit to Josh White and Josh Merkel. They really held the middle and everything that came through, they got it out if they needed to get it out.”

Merkel was making his first appearance after missing two weeks with a concussion. His gritty work epitomized the Hawks’ effort.

“Our defense steps up for us almost every single game,” Saile said. “I think we’re just really determined more than anything. We’re really good at getting out of tough situations. That’s our style.”

Despite the loss, Willson was happy with what his team accomplished this year.

“I couldn’t have been more proud of this team,” Willson said. “They’ve done some things that our program has never done before in our Tri-Cities success (sweeping St. Charles East, Batavia and Geneva) and they should be proud of that. We won the conference, which we haven’t done since 2006.

“I’ve always thought that while the games are fun and training is great, the relationships that are formed with these young men is by far the reason why I do this job. This group of players is definitely a special group to me, and I was happy to be a part of it this year.”

Several of the St. Charles North seniors are planning to continue playing in college. Stricker is headed to Benedictine and Garrett Morgando has committed to Wisconsin-Whitewater. Amro is among the undecided.